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Murugan also called Kartikeya, Skanda and Subrahmanya, is a popular Hindu deity especially among Tamil Hindus, worshipped primarily in areas with Tamil influence, especially South India, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Mauritius.His six most important shrines in India are the Arupadaiveedu temples, located in Tamil Nadu. In Sri Lanka, Hindus as well as Buddhists revere the sacred historical Nallur Kandaswamy temple in Jaffna and the sacred Buddhist and Hindu shrine or temple Katharagama (also in Sinhala "Katharagama Devalaya") dedicated to him, situated deep south in the country.[1] Chinese in Penang, Kuala Lumpur, of Malaysia also pray to Lord Murugan during Thaipusam.

Lord Murugan is more popular in South India especially among Tamil people famously referred as Thamzil Kaduvul (God of Tamils) compared to other parts of India. He is the God of war and the patron deity of the Tamil land (Tamil Nadu). Like most Hindu deities, He is known by many other names, including Senthil, Saravaṇa, Kārtikeya (meaning 'son of Krittika' ), Arumugam, Sanmuga(from Sanskrit Ṣaṇmukha), Shadanana meaning 'one with six faces'), Kumāra (meaning 'child or son'), Guhan or Guruhuha (meaning 'cave-dweller'), Skanda (meaning 'that which is spilled or oozed, namely seed' in Sanskrit), Subrahmaṇya, Vēlaṇ and Swaminatha and called as Kadamban in Melakadambur, means "who wearing Kadambu flowers in his shoulders"

In Durga Puja in Bengal, Murugan is is considered to be a son of Durga along with his brother Ganesha and his sisters Saraswati and Lakshmi.